Marshall University Athletics
Saturday, September 16
Harrisonburg, Va.
7:00 PM
Marshall University
7-0-0, 1-0-0
3
at
1
JMU
4-1-2, 0-1-0
1
2
F
Marshall
1
2
3
James Madison
0
1
1
Photo by: Austin O Connor
No. 2 Herd Men’s Soccer Captured SBC Opener at No. 9 JMU
9/16/2023 11:02:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bell notches sixth goal, 17th point of the season
Box Score (PDF) | Championship Fund
HARRISONBURG, Va. – The No. 2 Marshall University men's soccer team (7-0, 1-0 Sun Belt) went on the road and took its Sun Belt Conference opener 3-1 at No. 9 James Madison (4-1-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) Saturday night in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
"You know we definitely had to play against some adversity there tonight," Herd men's soccer head coach Chris Grassie said after the win. "I think our guys handled themselves well under the circumstances. To come here with eight outfield players (nine men) and win against one of the top-10 teams in the country shows our caliber."
After hitting the post at the 17:58 mark, just under three minutes later, Adam Aoumaich cut in from the left wing and snuck a shot past JMU's Sebastian Conlon to give the Herd a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute. The tally was the senior's third of the season.
MU then tallied a pair of quick goals in the second half. Marco Silva and Pablo Simon combined for a pair of quick passes, finding Matthew Bell in the 18-yard box. Bell turned and fired a shot past Conlon at 55:06 mark for his sixth goal of the season.
Three minutes and six seconds later, Taimu Okiyoshi dribbled through the middle of the pitch, fired a rocket of a shot off his left foot and into the top corner of the goal for his first of the season to make it 3-0.
"Taimu was phenomenal tonight," Grassie said. "It was a game for him breaking through the lines. He's such a calm and composed guy. You saw him break through, find an opening and what a banger."
Rodrigo Robles tallied a goal for the Dukes with MU down to 10 men in 71st minute as the Herd still led 3-1.
"I thought we were magnificent until 3-0," Grassie commented. "Then obviously the game changed. Sometimes you have to live with the elements against you and deal with it. I thought our guys did a tremendous job. To play as much as we did with nine men, shows our championship caliber."
Marshall held on for the victory playing 29:21 with 10 men and the final 13 minutes with just nine due to red cards.
NEXT UP
No. 2 Marshall welcomes No. 5 UCF on Saturday for its SBC home opener. First kick is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
To donate to the Championship Fund for Marshall men's soccer, please click HERE. All proceeds go directly to the Marshall men's soccer team.
For all the latest information about Marshall amen's soccer, follow @herdmsoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
HARRISONBURG, Va. – The No. 2 Marshall University men's soccer team (7-0, 1-0 Sun Belt) went on the road and took its Sun Belt Conference opener 3-1 at No. 9 James Madison (4-1-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) Saturday night in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
"You know we definitely had to play against some adversity there tonight," Herd men's soccer head coach Chris Grassie said after the win. "I think our guys handled themselves well under the circumstances. To come here with eight outfield players (nine men) and win against one of the top-10 teams in the country shows our caliber."
After hitting the post at the 17:58 mark, just under three minutes later, Adam Aoumaich cut in from the left wing and snuck a shot past JMU's Sebastian Conlon to give the Herd a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute. The tally was the senior's third of the season.
MU then tallied a pair of quick goals in the second half. Marco Silva and Pablo Simon combined for a pair of quick passes, finding Matthew Bell in the 18-yard box. Bell turned and fired a shot past Conlon at 55:06 mark for his sixth goal of the season.
Three minutes and six seconds later, Taimu Okiyoshi dribbled through the middle of the pitch, fired a rocket of a shot off his left foot and into the top corner of the goal for his first of the season to make it 3-0.
"Taimu was phenomenal tonight," Grassie said. "It was a game for him breaking through the lines. He's such a calm and composed guy. You saw him break through, find an opening and what a banger."
Rodrigo Robles tallied a goal for the Dukes with MU down to 10 men in 71st minute as the Herd still led 3-1.
"I thought we were magnificent until 3-0," Grassie commented. "Then obviously the game changed. Sometimes you have to live with the elements against you and deal with it. I thought our guys did a tremendous job. To play as much as we did with nine men, shows our championship caliber."
Marshall held on for the victory playing 29:21 with 10 men and the final 13 minutes with just nine due to red cards.
NEXT UP
No. 2 Marshall welcomes No. 5 UCF on Saturday for its SBC home opener. First kick is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
To donate to the Championship Fund for Marshall men's soccer, please click HERE. All proceeds go directly to the Marshall men's soccer team.
For all the latest information about Marshall amen's soccer, follow @herdmsoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
---HerdZone.com---
Team Stats
MU
JMU
Goals
3
1
Shots
11
11
Shots on Goal
7
5
Saves
4
4
Corners
6
3
Fouls
6
15
Scoring Plays
Adam Aoumaich (3)
GOAL by MU Aoumaich, Adam.
20:52
Matthew Bell (6)
Assisted By: Pablo Simon , Marco Silva
GOAL by MU Bell, Matthew Assist by Simon, Pablo and Silva, Marco.
55:06
Taimu Okiyoshi (1)
GOAL by MU Okiyoshi, Taimu.
58:12
Rodrigo Robles (3)
Assisted By: Enrique Garcia Barelles , Evan Southern
GOAL by JMU Robles, Rodrigo Assist by Garcia Barelles, Enrique and Southern, Evan.
70:48
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's SoccerMarshall Men's Soccer: Round of 8 Postgame at SMU - HC Chris Grassie/Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos
Monday, December 09
Marshall Men's Soccer: vs. Furman Postgame - Chris Grassie/Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos
Monday, December 09
Marshall Men's Soccer: 2024 NCAA Selection Show Press Conference
Monday, November 18
Msoc vs ODU Cinematic Recap
Wednesday, November 13